It is common for parents to measure the growth of their children. This has often been accomplished by having the child stand against a wall, holding a pencil against the child's head and making a mark on the wall. The distance from the mark to the floor is thereafter measured using a yardstick or tape measure. The mark can then be removed, or left in place for comparison to future such marks. There are boards designed to be fastened to the wall, reach to the floor and have graduations printed on them. The child stands against the board and the parent makes a mark on the board. If the board is wide enough the date and name of the child can also be written on it. Often these boards are decorated with cartoon characters or sports motifs. They have no moving parts. Other more complex devices have been developed to measure the height of both children and adults.
Runge, in U.S. Pat. No. 2,215,884 teaches a device to measure the height of a child that consists of a board with a graduated scale that reads zero at the bottom and increases numerically upward. There are deep notches on both sides of the board to accommodate a movable forward projecting plate. There is a beveled section in the center of the plate that intersects with the reading on the graduated scale. The board is hung on a wall at an appropriate height so that the head of the child is against the board. The plate is moved to rest on the child's head. A mark can be made next to the graduation to denote the height. This board records changes in growth only, and to determine the actual height the distance from the zero marking to the floor must be measured and added to the reading on the board. The plate can be folded down so it is flat against the board when not in use.
Allen, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,212, discloses a measuring device that must be wall mounted at a predetermined distance from the floor. A flat panel has lateral flanges that engage a vertically movable head member with a head plate that extends forward to rest on the head of the person being measured and folds flat when not in use. An axle is rotated to move the head member along the panel and a friction wheel prevents unwanted movement of the head member. A series of pins of different colors are attached to the head member and a name can be inscribed next to each pin. When a measurement is made a colored sticker representing a particular named person can be placed at the level of the head plate to record the height. A book can be maintained in the head member to record any additional information.
The device of Lund, described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,402,585, has a flat base to be mounted on a wall and includes a 35 inch rod. The 35 inch notation on the scale of the flat base is aligned with the top of the rod and the bottom of the rod touches floor. When the base is mounted, the height of the person being measured can be read from a scale on the base. A movable horizontal arm supported on the base with a biasing spring is moved to contact the top of the head of the person being measured. Measurements from 21 inches to 84 inches can be made.
Landauer describes a measuring device that has a base made up of two linear segments hinged together in the middle. There is a sliding forward extending member that can be moved over both segments and scale notations on the two segments. There is no place to record data. A 24 inch leg slides into the lower segment. The leg must be fully extended and must touch the floor when the base is attached to the wall so that the scale will provide an accurate measurement. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,881)
Lee (U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,359) discloses a measuring device that is attached to a wall or other vertical surface and does not reach the floor. A movable measuring marker with a forward extension is held in place by magnetic attraction. There is no place to record measurements on the base. The marker is hinged so that the forward extension can be folded against the base when not in use.
Another measuring device is composed of three parts, a base member that must be stuck to a wall about 30 inches above the floor by means of an adhesive, a slidable indicator and a flexible steel measuring tape. There are two tracks in the base member. The tape is unrolled and slid upward into one track and the indicator is placed in the other track. The indicator is moved so that it touches the head of the person being measured and the person steps away so the height can be read. There is no place to record the height on the tape. (Heys, U.S. Pat. No. 3,313,030) The device of Casper (U.S. Pat. No. 5,996,240) is personal to one child and has three parts, a top housing with a space for a picture of the child, a ribbon with the scale marked on it, and a foot plate. The child steps on the plate and the ribbon is unrolled until the top housing rests on the child's head. A shaft can be turned to make the ribbon taut and a mark can be made on the ribbon under the housing to indicate the height. Miyazaki describes a similar three part measuring device. This one utilizes a punch to make a hole in the tape to note the height and a space to mark the date or name of the child next to the punch hole after the child steps away. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,237,239) The latter two measuring devices require the person being measured to stand against a wall when the device is used, though the device is not attached to the wall.
All of the prior art patents require that the devices be attached to a wall or used against a wall. In the devices using a flexible tape, one end of the tape must be placed perfectly on the floor and there can be no slack if an accurate reading is to be obtained. The other devices are attached to a wall but do not extend to the floor. Various means are used to account for the distance from the device to the floor and measurements may not be exact. Many of the prior art devices require the assistance of another person to take the measurement, and most do not provide enough space to record data such as the date, name of subject and other desired information.
There is a need for a measuring device that gives an accurate measurement of the subject and one that the subject can use alone. There is a need for such a measuring device that also provides sufficient space to record any necessary data with each measurement. There is also a need for a measuring device that does not have to be attached to a wall in order to get an accurate measurement and can be stored and brought out only when needed.